Vanity Girl Musings

Body Wash Review

2009-08-18T11:31:00.000+05:30

I have tried a number of body showers available in Delhi, and I recently decided my favorite. And hence, the decision to update the blog :)

Among the current bottles stacked in my bathroom, let's start from the bottom up:
Fiama Di Wills Clear Springs Shower Gel: It claims to contain jojoba beads, sea weed and lemongrass extracts. I didn't friggin feel a thing! Although it's priced similar to the other brands available in the market, you would need an exceptionally large amount for the loofah to lather, and I really like a good lathered up loofah to scrub all over! Turns out quite expensive for a person like me. You would probably need to use as much as used by the model in this ad. I somehow don't feel too fresh after this, and I'm struggling to finish this bottle. A complete waste according to me. Oh but you do get a loofah free!

Fa Shower Gel Everyone loves showers that keep them perked up for the rest of the day and are completely rejuvenating. Fa is a great body wash, and doesn't leave your skin dry. Initially my skin felt a little soapy after a shower, but eventually I got around to that feeling. It's very thick, and also lathers quite easily. Must give it a try!

The unexpected favorite came a few days back, when I ran out of Fa body wash, and in a hurry purchased the Lux Uplifting Firm Body Wash. I have always been a little biased against Lux, as once as a kid I read somewhere that Lux was a good substitute for Lifebuoy!! I was flabbergasted, as I always used the Lux soap as a kid (Bollywood actresses and their influence, u know the rest!). I had never used Lux after that, until ofcourse this Saturday. May I just say how impressed I am with this product!!!

You have to pour just a tiny drop on the loofah, and it lathers up so very well and turns out very economical. My skin felt soft and moisturised after the bath. It doesn't have a strong smell, and you don't notice it at all. I think it's a must try. It claims to contain collagen, and stimulating Mediterranean sea minerals, which when massaged on the skin, leave it smooth and firm. Smooth - oh yes, Firm - I am not quite sure if this bit is working out yet, but as compared to the others, I really like this one! And you get a loofah free here as well ;)

New Shoes

2009-07-15T00:11:00.002+05:30

I finally went shopping on Sunday, to catch up with the sale season.

Somehow I end up at South Extension market way too often - despite all the bigger, better, and most importantly AC malls that have mushroomed all over NCR. Maybe the fact of getting a better deal at the stores in South Ex or the convenience of going there, whichever maybe the case, I picked up new shoes :):)

I have a recurring lower back pain problem, and I have been avoiding heels in office. So I've been playing around with lots of colorful flat pumps to wear to office.

The new additions are these tyrian purple colored patent flats from Vansons for Rs. 795. These shoes instantly talked to me - I swear they did. "Pick me", "Pick me" was all I could hear! :>

I loved the criss cross detailing in the front, and I can't wait to wear these!

Another pair that I bought are these green patent flats from D&A for Rs. 745...

...with some elastic detailing in the back

But can any shopping be complete without something black! I picked up another pair of black patent flats (peep-toes) from D&A (Rs. 745 again)
(Pic coming up soon)

Finally ended the shoe shopping for the day with a pair of silver colored kolhapuris from the street vendor (Rs. 200) My only other kolhapuri chappals were in brown, which my sister took.

(I wonder why it has 'bossini' written on it!?!)

I will put up better pics of all of them after clicking pics from the camera. My Nokia 5300 Xpressmusic is just not good enough.

Delhi Summer Sales Update

2009-07-09T23:12:00.013+05:30

Here are the list of Designer (read expensive) brands sales that are on in Delhi right now!
Check back at this post as I’ll add to the list as more sales are announced.

1) Satya Paul - Upto 60% off - July 8 to 19 (Multiple locations)
2) Jimmy Choo - Upto 50% off (DLF Emporio, Vasant Kunj)
3) Paul Smith - Upto 50% off (DLF Emporio, Vasant Kunj)
4) Samsaara - Upto 70% off (South Ex II, Raja Garden)
5) Puma - Upto 60% off - Started end June
6) Levis - Flat 40% off - Started end June
7) Anita Dongre Interpret - Upto 50% off (Saket)

Update 10th July
1) D&A Footwear - Upto 50% off
2) FCUK - Upto 50% off
3) Ministry of Fashion - Flat 70% off
4) Spykar - Upto 50% off
5) Adidas - Flat 40% off

Update 12th July
1) Venus Steps
2) Carlton - Upto 40% off
3) Woodland - Upto 40% off

Update 18th July
1) Ritu Wears - 40% off
2) United Colors of Benetton - Upto 50% off
3) Espirit
4) Wills Lifestyle - Upto 60% off
5) Mango - Upto 50% off
6) Nine West - Upto 50% off
7) Biba - Upto 50% off
8) Guess - Flat 50% off
9) Debenhams - upto 50% off
10) Sisley - Flat 50% off
11) The Body Shop - Upto 50% off
12) Westside - Upto 50% off
13) Mufti - Upto 50% off

There are many more that are on right now. Unfortunately, I'm not mall hopping much lately, and am not sure of details. Will update once I do.

If you know of a sale, please share it in the comments below.

Fab India

2009-07-05T09:59:00.001+05:30

I wear a lot of Indian clothes to office because:
a) the people in my office are extremely conservative dressers
b) I walk around a lot in office, and I don't have to wear heels with them

So the other day, when we went to watch a movie, I bought these 2 lovely kurtas from Fab India

The mistake that happened was I bought one in size XS, and the other in S! I didn't realise it till after I had already cut the tag of the one in size S!! I still wore it, and consoled myself with 'wow its airy' ;) (well, it doesn't look that oversized - maybe cuz of all the binging I talked about here)

As with all suits, paired with some chunky earrings, and nice flats, they look great.

I'm also trying to go 'green' in my lifestyle to the extent possible.

While browsing through the store, when I noticed how every product in the store says that FI is against Animal Testing, I decided to buy some of them

Lemon Intensive Hand Cream: I've tried the hand cream and it is excellent...Unlike other moisturisers where your hand either gets too sticky or dries up very quickly, so far with the cream, my hands stay soft until the next wash - which I tend to do very often (Rs. 125)

Aloe Vera Protein Shampoo: I'm yet to try the shampoo - will update once I do (Rs. 200)

Keep it Clean...

2009-06-16T13:12:00.006+05:30

...your face that is. I always wash my face atleast twice a day. Which face wash do you use, among the current crop available in the Indian market?

I have really really oily skin, and so have to ensure the face wash does not give me any eruptions when I least want them.

I regularly use the Garnier Deep Pore Face Wash. For a face as oily as mine, it works so well, an amount greater than usual almost works like a scrub. Just a drop and it lathers all over the face, and I instantly feel like all the Delhi I was carrying on my face was never there :) If you haven't tried it already, give it a shot. I think it even suits the ones with dry skin (my sis has extremely dry skin and she's also using it regularly).

My other regular face wash is the Clean and Clear Foaming Facial Wash. Again meant for those with excess oil, it is much softer and easy on the skin as compared to the Garnier face wash, and considering how inexpensive it is(MRP - Less than Rs. 100 - don't remember the exact amount), it's great value for money.

I recently got the Nivea Visage Purifying Water Cleansing Gel (MRP - Rs. 149) free on paying a bill at an Easy Bill Outlet. It contains these micro-scrubs which are supposed to 'deeply purify and remove excess oil'. It's working well, though I'm still not using it regularly. The Nivea patent fragrance is much more subdued as well, atleast for me that's a huge plus.

I'm not eating these days...

2009-05-28T09:19:00.003+05:30

...cuz what I'm doing simply does not qualify as that! I'm binging infinitely!!!
Eating Out Everyday - Check
Pizzas atleast twice a week - Check
Maggi for snacking - Check (For those unfamiliar with the term, Maggi is the GOD of 'any time food' for most urban indians)

Basically you name it, I'm probably eating it right now! Though I really can't seem to figure out the reason for it :(

Oh btw did I forget to mention, my sis on her arrival got the 'customary' packs of duty-free chocolates, alongwith these little bites of heaven from Trader Joe's

And since I managed to finish the entire box by myself in a week, she told my brother-in-law to get more (I might have hinted at it ;)). So anyways, he landed yesterday and here I am writing a post about it.

Here's wishing myself a speedy recovery from this ridiculuos phase!

Cocktail Clutch

2009-05-09T01:05:00.002+05:30

I'm attending a friend's reception tonight, and I bought an ivory rosette clutch from Next at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, to go with the sari I plan to wear. It has a small metallic strap holding on. The pic below is very similar to the clutch I got, except the flower design on it. The clutch originally cost only Rs. 999, however since I spent over Rs. 2000, I got a discount of 25%..yeye! Everything turned out so much cheaper that way.

Back to Basics

2009-05-08T08:23:00.004+05:30

Spent my day with my BFFs and did a li'l bit of that random shopping, we all love to do!

This Marks & Spencer top looked great, and surprisingly even my muffin top isn't visible ;)! And though I'm a UK size 8, this one fit me in size 14 :(. I saw the mannequin wearing this one and I was shocked to find it had a size 12 on!

This top from Promod is the first white tee purchase for this season. Every year, I end up buying atleast 2-3 basic white and black tees. I have a stack full of them, and it's ever expanding!!!

Got a few more tees - a yellow one from S.Oliver, another green one from M&S...Well I spent around 6k on tees alone :)

Big Drops of Crystal

2009-05-07T18:30:00.002+05:30

My sister is home for sometime, and she gifted me these beautiful Swarovski crystal earrings :)

These are the Galet Light Azore Blue Pierced Earrings. They're quite big in size, compared to what it looks like in the pic, and would look perfect with just about anything.

You can read more about them here

Got it!

2009-04-28T01:41:00.002+05:30

Finally!! Luck must have been by my side this weekend, when I finally spotted the perfect bag for my needs. Not formal, yet not too casual, a big black shoulder bag.

I found this suede bag with metallic detailing at AG's, a shop exlusively selling women's handbags in South Ex Market. Though a little pricey at Rs. 2400, the quality of suede is really nice. It's big enough to hold the numerous things I always carry, yet not bulky. It wears very well on my shoulder. With multiple zippers inside, and a sturdy lining (don't know what material), I think this one is going to last me a long time :)

Beer, Food, and IPL

2009-04-20T04:42:00.003+05:30

Finally after nearly a month of being at home/office only, I went out yesterday for the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. My friends and I decided to meet up at All Sports Bar in Connaught Place. Located right next to Regal Cinema on the main, it is easily accessible. They provide free valet parking as well, but I didn't know that till I entered inside.

There's a Rs. 500 cover charge, and we got coupons worth as much in return. The bar is spread over two floors, with a mix of bar stands, bean bag, booth and stadium seating. The place was packed when we arrived, but we got a booth in no time. The good thing about the place is that each booth has got its own TV and you can't miss a single ball with all the TV screens around. There isn't much to the decor besides these TVs. The booth, we were in, could easily seat six people I think (we were only 3) and was quite comfortable. I got caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd, with drum beats, whistles and the soft rock playing each time the ads came on. I wouldn't have enjoyed the music had I just been out enjoying a conversation with friends, but since the tempo was high, the music matched the mood perfectly!

I couldn't wait to join the crowd and just grabbed the menu to ensure my dosage to get happy high ;) Which brings me to the menu - It was a pamphlet of the sorts you recieve daily in the newspaper from random neighbourhood dhabas. If this was an IPL special menu, it would still be okay, but if it's the case always, they sure need to upgrade! There was hardly anything in the food menu, a few items of both veg and non-veg, which too were overpriced. As for the drinks menu, again very limited. For us it was good cuz we all wanted beer and were not hungry, but the whiskey regulars would sure be disappointed. For us, it turned out to be a good deal, as we ordered the bucket of 10 pints. Saved us few coupons for something that was 300 or less. Our first order was the Fosters bucket for Rs. 1200, and Chicken Tikka for Rs. 275. The taste was good, and there were around 5-6 tikkas in the serving. We never got around to the second round as the rain washed away the match, but nevertheless.

I had a fun evening, and would definitely visit the place a second time around.

PS - I missed checking out the the foosball and pool table there this time
PPS - There was a very strange painting of a black man in the wash room there! I still can't figure out why it was there in the first place ;)

Bad Hair Day

2009-04-04T10:44:00.001+05:30

One thing very typically me, is my obsession with my hair.

I have medium length frizzy but mostly straight hair, which are naturally black. I got them colored a shade of copper last year, after a lot of thinking from Keune Parlor in GK M-Block Market. Since I paid nearly 5k for that whole thing, I was expecting way better results than what I got. But I was nevertheless happy that time (Not ecstatic!!!)

But eventually my worst fears came true. My hair has lost it's natural shine, it's rough and unmanageable. It's got a mind of its own now, and I certainly don't like that.

I tried a number of products ever since, and only a few of them really work. Here are my picks -

L'Oreal Elvive Anti-Breakage Nutri-Repair Masque - I use it twice a month, as advised by a make-up artist friend and it immediately softens my hair and I can definitely see an improvement since I started using it. Thanks M! (tip - leave it on for around 3 minutes for better results)

Schwarzkopf Supersoft Smoothie Yoghurt Red Berries Shampoo and Conditioner - My sister got it for me from London, and it's worked like a dream. I'm waiting for her to make her next trip here :) (The pic below shows the entire Supersoft Smoothie range, but I have the pink & red bottles)

It's raining gold

2009-04-04T10:00:00.002+05:30

Bought a really funky pair of gold sandals....they're funky because of the way they tie up...there's a zip at the back, running from your heel till slightly above the ankle, and kinda like gladiators, they tie up above your ankles. The toes are quite normal, but i wore it with a denim skirt the other day, and sure enough, got a lot of compliments ;)
I wore them before even clicking a picture, but will update this post with a pic really soon.

The unending problem

2009-03-10T09:44:00.001+05:30

I absolutely totally most definitely HATE exercising!! Thankfully I do have a good control over what I eat...umm well on most occasions! Here's what goes 'in' on an average day:

A glass of milk with 1 teaspoon sugar and 2-3 teaspoons Bournvita in the morning
Some fruit before lunch
Lunch - 2 rotis, dal, subzi and curd (all oil free) - I hate lunch hours cuz inevitably I end up eating something off somebody elses plate or on many occasions sharing a chocolate, or maggi....
I keep drinking a lot of water till dinner time and usually don't snack in between
If I am not going out, then it's a simple dinner at home similar to lunch.

Summers are here, and so is the time for swimming, shorts and skirts!! Back to the basic question - what do you guys suggest I should do to cut calories and lose weight without exercising?!

Need a new bag

2009-03-09T08:59:00.003+05:30

I have been desperate for a new bag for casual wear for long now...Don't have too many options. I don't want to go the standard DaMilano /Hidesign route - I feel they're too much for 30+ women. There's Puma as well, but they're too casual to carry to work even on Fridays. Have checked out Guess as well and there was just too much bling on them. I want a simple large tote, preferably in black.

There's a shop in South Ex selling really great bags (I'm forgetting the store name) but they're slightly more expensive than my budget would allow.

Any suggestions?!

Casual sunday shopping

2009-03-08T23:05:00.009+05:30

I spent a lazy sunday today, and did nothing worthwhile except for these -

These flats which are so colorful and perfect for summers. Though I've never liked any Liberty footwear, I instantly liked this one at a mall. At only Rs. 399, they're perfect for casual summer and are incredibly comfortable (I think that was more attractive than the looks)

'Shy Rose' nailpaint from Color Bar at only Rs. 35 - a shocking red color - again my first time buying any color bar product. This is very smooth to apply and is looking reallly good :) It's not so quick to dry though....took me longer than usual

It's good to find stuff so cheap :)

Cashmere Mafia

2009-03-08T07:00:00.001+05:30

I watch a lot of TV - it's my stress buster. Some of the shows I watch are purely for their style quotient (Gossip Girl, SATC, The OC, Cashmere Mafia....the list is endless). I wouldn't comment on SATC - though it happens to be my favorite - simply cuz it's been discussed endlessly by everyone!
There's a show on AXN - Cashmere Mafia and though I think the show itself is a drab, I really like how impeccably dressed these women are! They wear clothes which any woman in the corporate world would love to wear and there isn't anyone dressing up like Sarah Jessica Parker (how wild was her dressing on SATC!!!) The show only ran for one season in the US and there are only 7 episodes in all.

(Source: www.entertainmentwallpaper.com)

If only I could wear such clothes all the time ....sigh..

My very first post

2009-03-08T06:17:00.004+05:30

As a tribute to my favorite blogger, I'll start with what she started with - Beauty Products.

I'm a total junkie when it comes to testing the latest products in market, however once something suits me very well, I refrain from changing the brand. The one product that has suited me really well over the years is L'Oreal White Perfect Re-Lighting Whitening Toner.

I use it twice daily and the bottle I had earlier (I guess it was a 500 ml one) lasted me a more than a year. Somehow I feel this toner had a big hand in me getting rid of my pimples forever (Pimple free since 2007 :)) My skin feels very fresh after its use and I just bought a new bottle but sadly they only have a 350 ml one now.

I had earlier tried the Ayur Toner (sucks big time - it contains a higher percentage of alcohol and is too strong on the skin) and the Lakme one (is just about average).

L'Oreal beats the others hands down in this category!